


A Devil's child

by OneWithoutAName



Series: Thieves AU [2]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Child Abuse, Erik is not a Happy Bunny, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M, Mentions of Child Abuce, Poor Charles, Protective Erik
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9079753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneWithoutAName/pseuds/OneWithoutAName
Summary: Erik has always been alone. He doesn’t need anyone. But what happens when he finds a hurt boy in his alley. It seems that Charles is something else than other people. In short, how did Erik and Charles meet and how they became friends.Stand alone. Can be read without reading part 1.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally I put some of this in the part 1. But I figured out that I wanted to write this wholly so here it is. ;) In my opinion this turned out to be better than the first part XD But be my guest and judge by yourselves.   
> All mistakes are mine, but hopefully there aren’t that many of them.

“Some bread and cheese.” Erik asked and put the coins on the counter. He was barely able to see over it. The shopkeeper looked down between him and the money with calculating look on his round face. Erik didn’t like that at all.

“Not enough.” He said and the boy tensed from annoyance and rising anger.

“It was enough last week.” He complained, but the shopkeeper just gave him a nasty smirk.

“Well, not anymore. What are you going to do about it? Go and cry to the sheriff?” The man asked and laughed like a pig. Erik looked away, trying to ignore the noise. The shopkeeper was right, this money wasn’t legally his, he had stolen it and so there were no way for him to complain.

“Then I’ll take just the bread.” He said through his teeth and reached to take some of the money back, but the shopkeeper slammed his own fat hand over them.

“Well, lucky for you, this is just enough.” The man said and took all the money.

 

That was the last straw and Erik tried to pull the man’s hand away from the money. _His_ money. But he was just thirteen year old boy and the shopkeeper was a bulky adult. The man took a frim hold of his wrist and lifted him to the air so only Erik’s toes were touching the floor.

“Don’t be stupid, boy. You should be thankful that I even sell something for a ragamuffin like you. Now take your bread and leave before I change my mind.” He spat out and threw Erik further away, almost pushing him over, but Erik found his balance before it was too late. The shopkeeper threw the hardened bread to his feet. Erik glared at the man who just laughed at him. His pride wanted him to just leave the old bread there and slam the door, but he really needed to eat something. So with one last glare he picked up the bread and left the shop, the ugly laugh ringing in his ears.

 

It was already late, but Erik needed to fill his water bottle. He had stolen it from some horsemen not long after his mother had passed away and he had ended up in streets. The faucet wasn’t that far away from his alley, so he just had to make small detour before he could rest, but right now he felt like it was just one way for the faith to taunt him. The evening wind was cool and made Erik tug his oversized jacket tighter around him as he walked. It hadn’t been his choice to become a thief, but it was the only option he had. Everyone said that America was the land of freedom, the land of new beginnings, but Erik new better. It was a land of horse shit. His life wouldn’t be eternal fight of surviving and fear of death if he still lived in Europe. Yes, he had only been five when his parents had decided to begin a new life in the new world, but he remembered that that time had been better. At least in his memories it was.

 

Still angry, Erik made it to the faucet and started to pump. It made his wrist hurt, that damn shopkeeper had almost twisted it, but he couldn’t use his powers when anyone could see it. He had enough problems already, he didn’t need people after him with pitchforks and torches, thinking him as a witch or something. It had started one year ago when he had noticed that he could feel metal around him. Shortly after that he had seen a drunken man hit his wife and had accidentally sent a nail fly straight to his shoulder. After that, he had practiced his powers when he knew he was alone. He levitated small objects like coins and nails, made them swoop through the air, bent them and once he even managed to melt one of the nails, but he still needed more practice. Sometimes, when he was angry or afraid the metal around him started to move, that was why he also had to learn to control his feelings.

 

Finally, when the bottle was full he straightened and started to make his way to his own alley. He saw some other street boys looking at him, and more specifically, his bread. Erik glared at them, but otherwise just kept walking. He knew that they wouldn’t dare to try anything. They had once, but they knew better now. Erik had always been alone, he knew how to fight, he knew how to take care of himself. Even for other street boys he was the odd one. He had strong German accent and it was enough for them to treat him as inferior. People just needed to have someone like that to feel better of themselves.

 

Erik’s alley was small one, but he had made a quite roomy nest there from boxes and burlap sacks. He had stationed it so people wouldn’t notice it from the street, so he had more privacy. It wasn’t anything great, but he was quite proud of it and it kept him warm and dry. He was just about to sit down when he heard a broken cry close to him. He spun around, trying to find the source of the voice and the small knife that he kept on his belt flew up beside his head, ready to protect him, but he couldn’t see anyone. The cry was there again and this time Erik was sure that it came from the end of the alley.

 

Slowly, he put the bread and the bottle down and took the knife from the air to a firm grip. He took careful steps towards the weeping sound. He looked behind some barrels and stopped dead to his tracks. There, lying on the ground was a thin boy. Erik looked at him with wide eyes. He was bent double and looked like he was trying to shield his head with his arms. His clothes were dirty, torn and bloody, he didn’t have shoes, his dark brown hair was a mess and it was obvious that he had been beaten.

 

Weak sobs and whimpers sounded too loud now and Erik didn’t have any idea what to do. If it was any other alley, he would just leave the boy there. Other children took care of each other, but none of them was crazy enough to come to Erik’s alley. Should he just drag the boy to the street? The boy let out another weak cry and the decision was made. Erik knelt down beside the boy touched his arm.

 

That was apparently wrong move. The boy cried out and tried to back away, but his back was already against the wall. Erik was first taken aback by the boy’s reaction but quickly put himself together. He tried to be as careful as he could as he put his hand over the boy’s mouth to make him quiet. There was no need to attract people in the streets.

“Hush! There’s no need to scream.” He said and the boy actually stopped trashing and opened his teary eyes. Erik was quite sure that he had never see eyes that blue before. The boy looked at him for a moment, before his eyes fell to the knife Erik was still holding and his eyes widened with terror. The boy started to scream again and shook his head in panic. Erik glanced at his knife and put it on his belt again before he started to calm the boy down.

“Hey. Hey! It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help.” He tried to keep his voice calm and lifted his hand that wasn’t over the boy’s mouth to show that he was unarmed now. The boy looked at him with timid eyes, but didn’t try to scream or flee anymore.

 

Erik took that as a good sign and kept talking.

“I will let go now. Promise me that you won’t scream. There’s no need to do that.” Erik said and after a few seconds the boy nodded slightly. Slowly Erik moved his hand away and the boy stayed silent. There was a darkening bruise on his upper cheek and his nose was bleeding, but otherwise his face seemed to been spared from the beating, if you didn’t count the dirt.

“Good. Now, can you sit up?” Erik asked, but the boy didn’t answer.

“Is he gone?” He asked instead with weak voice, and his accent reminded Erik of some higher class people. The question made him frown.

“There’s no one here. Just me.” He said, trying to be reassuring. “Can you sit up?” He tried again and this time, the boy nodded and started to push himself up. His face twisted in pain and he let out a short whimper, but Erik helped him to lean against the wall.

 

“Okay, just wait here for a second. I get some water and a cloth.” He said and without an answer he turned and went to get his bottle. He searched his nest and found some old rag that wasn’t that dirty and went back to the boy, who had stayed where he had left him holding his arms close to his body. He looked so small and way too thin. Erik wondered if he had seen the boy before, but he was quite sure that he hadn’t.

 

He knelt back down in front of the boy and tried to see if there was broken skin somewhere. Infection was most dangerous thing in cases like this. He had patched himself too many times to know that. As far as he could tell, only the boy’s knees had that kind of damage and even they weren’t that bad. He poured some water on the rag and started to clean the wounds. The boy drew a sharp breath through his teeth when the rag touched the broken skin.

“What’s your name?” Erik asked, trying to get boys mind away from the pain. The boy hesitated, but answered in the end.

“Charles.” He said, the voice hardly louder than a whisper.

“Charles,” Erik repeated, trying the pronouncing. “I’m Erik.” He didn’t exactly know why he told that. Maybe it was because his mother had always told him to introduce himself if someone else told their name to him.

“Thank you, Erik.” Charles said and Erik gave him a small smile.

 

They were silent for a moment as Erik eyed the skin on Charles’ knees and checked that they didn’t bleed anymore. Satisfied with his work he started to clean the boy’s face. Charles flinched from the contact at first, but relaxed soon enough.

“How old are you Charles?” Erik asked, trying to pick up a conversation again. The bleeding from the boy’s nose was only minor now.

“I’m nine, almost ten.” Charles answered. Erik hummed, not really knowing how else to answer. Charles looked younger than he told, but Erik didn't see a reason why he would lie. As he cleaned the dirt off of his face he revealed almost unhealthy pale skin and a dim bridge of freckles that traveled over the boy’s nose. It was like he hadn’t seen the sun in a long time. Who was this boy?

 

“I’ve never seen you around here before. Are you new?”  Erik asked, as he leaned away and eyed his work again.

“Yes. We just arrived yesterday.” Charles said and twiddled his fingers.

“We?” Erik asked, frowning and after a short pause the younger boy answered.

“Me, my mother, stepfather and stepbrother.” Charles said, his voice again just above a whisper. Erik felt some relief. There was someone who would take care of Charles now. But he had to wonder, what that tone in Charles’ voice had been. Probably he just missed his family already.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take you to them. Do you know where they are?” Erik asked encouragingly, but Charles just looked down.

“They left hours ago.” Charles said and his eyes started to fill with tears.

“Hey, I’m sure they are still here. They wouldn’t leave without you.” Erik said, trying to comfort the boy, but he just shook his head.

“They don’t want me. That’s why Kurt- That’s why my stepfather beat me, so I couldn’t follow them.” Charles said between his sobs and Erik felt anger rising inside himself. Why would they do that? Why would they leave Charles behind and beat him? He wanted to find this so called ‘family’ and teach them a lesson they would never forget.

 

Some of his rage must have shown on his face, because Charles looked at him again with fear. Erik closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Not now, he needed to figure out what to do with Charles. When he opened his eyes again Charles was still looking at him, but the fear had somewhat faded. Erik offered him a small reassuring smile and was pleased to see that Charles mirrored it, wiping away his tears.

“You must be hungry. I got some bread here, enough for two of us.” Erik said and stood up offering his hand to Charles, who took it hesitatingly. Erik helped him to stand up and had to support him, so he wouldn’t fall. Apparently some bruises made it painful to stand or walk. Well, it was good that they were mere meters away from Erik’s nest.

 

When Erik helped Charles sit down on to the sacks he looked little confused.

“You live _here_?” He asked and Erik gave him a sheepish grin.

“Yes, this is my nest. Make yourself comfortable.” He said and sat down next to him. He placed the water bottle between them and took the bread under the sacks. He used his knife to cut a piece of it and gave it to Charles.

“Here you go. It’s old and hard, but it’s food.” He said and was surprised when he noticed the look on Charles’ eyes. He looked like he had never seen anything so good in his life and almost ripped the bread out of Erik’s hands. He took a generous bite and closed his eyes as he ate it. Erik knew that kind of hunger and wondered what Charles had done to deserve to know it too. Maybe his family was poor and that’s why they had left one behind.

“Thank you.” Charles said, some bread still in his mouth and made so adorable sight that Erik couldn’t help himself but laugh.

 

The younger boy’s face gained some color as he blushed and swallowed the rest of the bread in his mouth before he kept talking.

“I’m sorry. That was rude.”

“Thanking me?” Erik asked smirking and lifted an eyebrow.

“No! Speaking while eating.” He hurried to explain, but Erik just shook his head and laughed.

“Don’t sweat it. Good manners hardly matter in the streets. I’m just glad to see that you appreciate my hospitality.” He said and took a bite of his own piece of bread. Charles smiled sheepishly at him and kept eating.

 

The silence that fell between them didn’t feel awkward and soon Erik found himself lost in his own thoughts. What he was supposed to do with Charles? He could push him to the other street boys, but he couldn’t be sure that they would take care of him. They could be cruel to him if they found out that he had been with Erik. There was no way to know and Erik didn’t want to risk it, the boy had already been through a lot. He knew the opinion the adults had towards orphans so there was no help from them either.

 

Erik glanced at Charles as a yawn escaped from the younger boy. Erik hadn’t been in other child’s company in a long time. He didn’t mind it, he liked to be alone, preferred it actually. Usually others made him just angry or annoyed, but not Charles. Erik didn’t know why, but this small boy didn’t annoy him. Well, at least not yet. He had just met him so anything could still happen. But right now, he didn’t feel a need to drive this boy away.

 

There was another yawn and Erik made his decision.

“It’s dark already. If you want you can sleep here this night.” Erik suggested and Charles looked at him with wide eyes before he looked down.

“I wouldn’t like to bother you.” He said quietly, but Erik waved his hand.

“I wouldn’t have asked if you would. There’s enough space for both of us.” He gestured his nest, but it seemed that Charles didn’t need more reassuring. He lifted his head and smiled.

“You’re very kind Erik. Thank you.” He said and Erik was taken aback. There were many words to describe him, but kind really wasn’t one of them. He got over it quickly though and shrugged.

“Don’t mention it.”

 

They ate some more, but left some bread for the morning. They laid down on Erik’s nest so Erik was between Charles and the ‘doorway’. He could provide more cover from the cold for the younger boy that way. Erik had taken off his jacket and put it over their bodies. It didn’t cover them wholly, but helped them stay warm. They weren’t touching but Erik still felt how the smaller boy shivered.

“Are you cold?” He asked and it took a moment before Charles answered.

“Little, but I’ll be fine.” Erik rolled his eyes and moved closer to the other boy and put his arm around him. He felt Charles go stiff, but stayed where he was.

“I said I’ll be fine…” Charles muttered, his back now pressed against Erik’s chest like he was a teddy bear.

“Shut it. I can’t sleep if your teeth chatter the whole night.” He said, sounding grumpy, but actually he just didn’t like the thought that the smaller boy was cold, but of course he couldn’t say _that_ aloud.

 

Slowly Charles relaxed on Erik’s hold.

“Good night Erik.” He muttered, almost asleep already.

“Gute nacht Charles.” Erik replied silently and allowed himself to sleep.

 

…

 

Next morning Erik and Charles shared the rest of the bread. They ate in silence, but it was clear by the younger boy’s nervous twisting and timid glances that he wanted to say something. After couple of minutes of ignoring Erik couldn’t take it anymore.

“If you want to say something just say it.” It might have come out harsher than he intended to say it. Charles actually flinched before he just looked down, avoiding Erik’s eyes. _Are you happy now?_ A small voice asked at back of Erik’s head. _You just scared a nine year old beaten orphan._ And he had to admit that he felt pretty bad for it. He let out a frustrated sigh before he tried again.

“I meant, that you can tell me anything you want. I won’t be mad.” He kept his voice calm and when Charles lifted his head slowly he offered an encouraging smile. The smaller boy bit his lip.

“What happens to me now?” He asked with weak voice and Erik couldn’t answer. He didn’t have an answer. How was he supposed to know what to do with this boy?

 

“I don’t know. You can do anything you want, I guess.” Erik said, shrugging his shoulders, hoping it would help even a little, but the smaller boy looked just more lost than before. “There’s always room in this alley if you don’t find anywhere else to go.” The words left his mouth before he could stop them. Since when had he been volunteer to share his alley with someone else? Apparently since now, when he saw how hopeful smile spreading to Charles’ face.

“Thank you Erik!” He said happily and Erik nodded, knowing that he couldn’t take his words back anymore. Then again, maybe he didn’t even want to.

 

A silence stretched between them and Erik had to do something to get the nervous energy out of him, so he stood up. Charles stared at him with curious, but still somewhat weary eyes. Erik coughed before he spoke.

“I need to go to work.” He explained and took his jacket. They had slept longer than Erik usually did and the sun was already high on the sky.

“Can I come with you?” Charles asked, his voice little high pitched, and stood up. Erik wasn’t sure about how it would end up, but he could always tell the boy to come back here if he was in his way.

“Why not.” He said and started to put his jacket on. Before he did it though, he glanced at Charles whose clothes were still torn and broken and threw it to him instead. When Charles looked at him surprised he just shrugged.

“You need it more than I do.” Erik explained and gave Charles a firm look that gave no room for arguments.

 

Charles put the jacket on and god if it had been too large for Erik, Charles almost drowned in it. The boy lifted his arms and looked down at himself.

“I look ridiculous.” He said under his breath and Erik was just in time to stop himself from saying ‘No, you look adorable’.

“It keeps you warm and that’s all that matters. Come on, let’s go.” He said instead and started to walk towards the street Charles following just on his heels.

 

They made their way towards the train station. It was always crowded and a perfect place for pickpocketing. Everyone so busy with their coming and going that it was easy to lose few coins.

“So, what do you exactly do for work?” Charles asked when they had stopped and were now standing near the wall. Erik watched the people passing them, trying to find someone worth pickpocketing.

“I help people get rid of things they won’t need.” Erik said and smirked for Charles’ confused face. “I’m a thief.” He clarified before he turned back to the crowd. It took a while before Charles said anything.

“That’s wrong.” His voice was quiet, but the words still hit Erik to the nerve. Was this kid for real?

“What?” He asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

“Stealing, it’s wrong. You can’t just take something that belongs to someone else!” Charles’ voice was much stronger now and he was looking the older boy straight to the eye. Less than one day. Less than one day and this kid managed to annoy Erik. To be fair it was more than most of the people, but that wasn’t the point here.

“Well sorry to break it to you kid, but this is how things are done on streets. It’s play dirty or die. It’s not like I have any other options.” Erik felt anger rise inside him and tried to keep it at bay.

“But there’s always an option!” Charles insisted and that was the last straw. Erik grabbed the smaller boy by the collar of the jacket and jerked him closer. The smaller boy let out a small yelp and his blue eyes were filled with fear.

“Listen to me kid. You think I wanted this? You think I chose this life happily? I tried. I tried to be part of the normal world, but they didn’t want me. They kicked me out and left me all alone. I’ve done this since I was nine. This is my only option and I won’t listen any little brat like you telling me otherwise. You know nothing about this life so maybe you should just shut up!”

 

Erik let go of the jacket and Charles retreated couple of steps, body tensed like he was ready to flee. There was tears in his eyes and Erik felt a sting of guilt. He looked away, trying to get his mind back on track and willed the anger stay down. After few controlled breaths he spoke, his tone calmer this time.

“This is how things are now, whether you like it or not. You must start to earn your own money soon, I can’t always waste my money on you. If you want to, I can help you to learn how this is done, but if you’re not interested you should just leave. Just make sure you are back in the alley before the sun goes down, the streets are not a place for a child at night.”

 

Charles looked down, thinking his options, until he turned around and slowly made his way out of the station. Erik watched him go before he ran his hand through his hair and sighed. What a mess.

 

…

 

When Erik came back to his alley that evening, he half expected not to find the pale boy there anymore. He wasn’t actually sure if he hoped or feared it. Still, there he was, sitting on an empty sack and playing with nails Erik usually used to practice his powers. Erik felt his shoulders slump as some tension left his muscles, Charles was still safe.

 

As he approached his nest the boy glanced him quickly before he turned away again. Erik didn’t hold it against him. Heck, he felt terrible afterwards for scaring a child who had just lost his family and been through enough. Edie would have given Erik a slap if she had seen it. But maybe a little gift would make it better.

 

Erik sat down next to Charles, but kept a good space between them. Without saying a word, he put down a paper bag that contained a bread and couple of apples that he had snatched from a bench near the station. But the food wasn’t only thing he had found. He had gone and searched some boxes that were in a train that had stopped at the station for a moment. He had found a chest full of clothes and took a shirt, jacket and a pair of pants with him. These he now gave to Charles, who looked them with stunned look.

“They might be slightly too big, but you’ll grow into them.” Erik said, avoiding other boy’s eyes and started to eat.

 

Charles was quiet for a moment before he asked.

“Did you steal these too?” Erik closed his eyes and counted to five in his mind.

“Would you believe me if I said that I didn’t?” He asked and Charles actually chuckled. It was a weak, but a chuckle nevertheless.

“No. And I appreciate your honesty.” He said and Erik turned to see a tiny smile that played on other boy’s lips as he held the clothes close to his chest. The sight made the corner of Erik’s own lips turn up.

“You’re welcome.”

 

After Charles had changed his clothes Erik gave him some bread and one apple. The smaller boy had to roll up the sleeves of the shirt and legs of the pants a little, but they didn’t look that bad. And at least they were intact.

“I haven’t heard accent like yours before. It sounds nice.” Charles said and Erik recognized the unsaid question there. This one was one sneaky nine year old.

“It’s German. I was born in Prussia.” He told and Charles looked at him, smiling brightly.

“I was born in London. So we are both European.” He paused for a moment before he continued? “What was it like?” Erik thought what to say. He could always just ignore the question, but surprisingly he didn’t feel that uncomfortable to tell Charles about himself.

“I don’t remember much. I was five when we moved here with my parents. It was better there, I think. There people didn’t look at me like I was something diseased.” He said bitterly.

“I know what you mean… I hate it here. I miss London so much.” Charles said miserably and bit his lower lip. He apparently did that often. Gently, Erik nudged the smaller boy with his shoulder. When Charles turned to look at him he offered a smile.

“Then it makes two of us. Well, almost. I can’t miss London, but I definitely hate it here.” He said and was happy to see that it made the other boy smile and then laugh.

 

…

 

They were lying in Erik’s nest when Charles made his mind.

“Would you teach me how to steal tomorrow?” He asked. It was only a whisper, but his tone was determined. Erik was surprised at first, but recovered quickly enough.

“Of course.” He said and felt something warm inside him. He wasn’t alone anymore.

 

…

 

Erik kept a watchful eye on the smaller boy as he made his way through the crowd. He had showed him the technique, but only way to learn how to do it was through experience. Erik had to admit that Charles’ way of moving among the people was something fascinating. It was like he had done this thousands of times before. His steps were sure as he approached a man in the crowd that had put his change in his jacket pocket. Still no one seemed to even notice the small boy among them. Actually, it seemed that people almost avoided looking at him.

 

When Charles reached his target he seemed to take a short moment for himself. That could had been a crucial mistake, but luckily the man didn’t seem to be in hurry and looked some cheeses on a market stall. Erik saw how Charles slowly slid his hand in to the man’s pocket and lifted a single coin from it, before he walked away like nothing had happened. As he made his way back to Erik, the older boy felt himself relax. He had been ready to run to help if something had gone wrong, but apparently Charles was a natural.

 

“Well, how did I do?” Charles asked nervously when he stopped beside Erik.

“I’d say you have talent. How did it feel?” Erik asked, smiling to the smaller boy.

“I wasn’t sure I could do it. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.” Charles confessed and rubbed his hands together. Probably because all the nervous energy.

“You did great, small mistakes, but you’ll learn. I’m proud of you.” He said, truly meaning it, and ruffled boy’s dark hair playfully. Charles tensed from the contact at first, but soon gave Erik a tightlipped smile. Erik wondered that, but waved it away. Probably Charles just wasn’t yet wholly comfortable with stealing.

 

…

 

First Erik had thought that Charles backed away from all kind of physical contact because of the beating and the bruises. But it had been, what, four weeks ago and the boy still acted like a scared bunny every time Erik even brushed him.  Alright, maybe Erik was little too harsh to the boy, it wasn’t easy to recover from an experience like that, but surely Charles knew that he would never hurt him.

 

The weirdest thing in this all was that sometimes Charles seemed better. They had had fun, had learned about each other and sometimes, it just felt so easy to be around the smaller boy. And now that there was two of them, they actually had more money for food. Two weeks ago they had bought their firs wrapper of fish and chips. Erik didn’t remember when he had something so delicious and Charles seemed to have same thoughts. After they had eaten the food Erik noticed that the younger boy looked curiously the paper the fish and chips had been wrapped in and his mouth was moving, making silent words.

“You can read?” Erik asked with surprise. Charles smiled almost smugly.

“And count!” He said and lifted his chin proudly.

“How?” Erik was truly astonished, those were rare treats for young children, and even rarer for poor children. Where had Charles learned this?

 

The smile on smaller boy’s lips flattered somewhat.

“My father, real father, taught me. He was a scientist, studied biology and chemistry. He had many books in his study back in London. I wanted to be just like him.” His voice was pining, and Erik knew from own experience what that voice meant. Not wanting to upset Charles more, he changed the subject.

“Could you teach me?” He asked carefully and when Charles looked at him with surprise he felt a need to defend himself and continued. “I never had time to learn. I know some words and do some basic counting, but that’s it.” He felt humiliated, but Charles smiled to him so brightly that the feeling disappeared altogether.

“Of course, my friend!” Charles beamed happily and Erik felt something flutter in his heart. _My friend_. He actually liked that.

“That’s set then. Thank you.” He said smiling and patted Charles on the shoulder.

 

That was a mistake. Charles tensed and pulled back from the touch. The smile was nowhere in sight. Erik was just about to apologize, but Charles was faster.

“I think we should go, before it gets dark.” He said, avoiding Erik’s eyes and threw the paper away. Erik just nodded and they made their way towards their alley in silence.

 

He was sure that there was something Charles didn’t tell him.

 

…

 

Erik avoided the docks as much as he could. It was a great place for thieves, always busy and crowded, but it was also dangerous. The place had its own rules, and if you looked weak, you could be sure to run into trouble. It was almost suicidal to walk there when it was almost dark, but there Erik was, walking near the most dangerous place in the town. The faucet they usually used didn’t work, so he had sent reluctant Charles ahead back to their alley and went to fetch some water on his own. He could take care of himself, but Charles would look like free meat for the men that hanged around here. No, he wouldn’t take a risk like that with his friend’s well-being.

 

The trip was stressful, but he managed to fill their bottle and was already walking back just as the sun started to set. But of course, the faith had never liked him that much. There were three men, obviously drunk, walking along the road towards him. Erik took a deep breath, looked straight forward and kept walking. _Don’t look at them_ , he told himself, _don’t acknowledge them, just keep walking_.

“Hey! What the heck are you doing here? We don’t need any beggars around here!” Bald man slurred, sounding aggressive and the others joined in their friend’s shouting. Before Erik could do anything, he was surrounded. The men were all heavy build, just muscle. His heart pounded in his chest, but he tried to keep his mind calm. If he panicked, he wouldn’t survive.

“Are you deaf or something?” One of them, who had blond hair, asked when Erik kept his head down, looking for an escape route.

“Maybe we should teach you a lesson on respecting people better than you!” The bald one made a move, trying to grip Erik by the collar of his shirt, but Erik dodged and slipped past the man, running as fast as he could.

 

He heard the men shout, first from surprise and then from anger. The voices didn’t fade and when Erik spared a glance over his shoulder he saw how the men were running after him. Why me? Erik thought and took a turn right. He couldn’t just run back to his alley, not while the men were following him. He took another turn and halted with terror. A dead end. _No! No, no, no, nononononono!_ This wasn’t real!

“Ha! Done with running, it’s time to have some fun.” The third man with a hat smirked at him as Erik tried to back away. He looked around, trying to find a way out, but there was nowhere to run. There wasn’t even any metal for him to use. With shaking hands he took his knife and held it up. The men looked at it for a moment before they burst into laugh.

“That’s cute boy! Fucking hilarious!” The blond howled between his laugh, but Erik was already making a plan. He could take at least one by surprise if he used his powers, maybe two. The last one would be harder, but he could manage. Maybe…

 

Erik was just about to let go of the knife and swing it with his powers through the first man’s throat, when a new voice made them all stop.

“NO!” The shout was high pitched and Erik felt slight pain in his head. And then, just like that, all three men fell down like sacks of potatoes. Erik looked down to the unconscious men, eyes wide with shock, before he moved his gaze up and his mind stopped working.

 

Behind the men stood Charles, holding his head with both hands, breathing fast and trembling. His eyes met Erik’s and for a moment they just stared at each other. That was, before Charles let out a noise like a whimper, turned around and ran away. That made Erik snap out of the frozen state.

“Hey, Charles! Charles wait!” He called for his friend, jumping over the men and ran after the smaller boy. He had no idea what just had happened, but it was clear that Charles had something to do with it.

 

It didn’t take long for Erik to catch Charles, he was taller than the other boy and had much more stamina. He took the boy by his upper arm, making him stop running.

“Charles, stop! What happened? Why are you running away from-“. He never got the chance to end that question.

“Don’t touch me!” Charles screamed and Erik felt that pain in his head again. He let go of Charles, who backed away against a wall, only realizing that he hadn’t moved his hand willingly. He looked at the smaller boy with shock.

“You…” He didn’t know how to say it. It was Charles who had knocked the men unconscious and now made Erik move his hand. With his mind.

“I’m sorry Erik… I’m so sorry!” Charles said over and over again as he curled to himself, sitting back against the wall and hugging his legs against his chest. He was shaking like a leaf.

 

Erik swallowed. Charles looked so small, just like he had when they met. He needed to do this right, if he wanted to calm him down. He moved slowly closer to Charles, kneeling in front of him, but keeping a small distance between them.

“Charles, it’s okay. You saved me there. I’m not angry, I’m not going to hurt you.” He held his hands on sight and spoke with calm voice. Slowly, Charles looked up at him with teary eyes and Erik took that as a cue to continue. “Please Charles, don’t be afraid. Let’s go back to our alley, then we can talk.” Charles bit his lip and curled litter tighter. “Trust me.” Erik said, still calm and held his right hand for Charles to take. He didn’t know how long they sat like that, but when Charles finally nodded and stood up slowly, not taking Erik’s hand, it was already dark. The older boy stood up too and resisted the will to touch Charles shoulder. The boy obviously wanted his space.

“Let’s go then.” Erik said gently and led them back to their alley, keeping an eye on Charles just in case the boy tried to run again, but he just walked stiffly behind him keeping his head down and arms tightly around his chest.

 

They sat down as they reached their alley, away from unwanted eyes and ears. Charles’ breathing was calmed down somewhat, but he was still shaking slightly. There was still respectable space between them, although all Erik wanted was to hug the scared boy. That was what his mother used to do if he was upset or scared and it had always worked. But Charles obviously wanted no one to touch him right now.

 

Erik struggled to come up with a way to start the conversation. There were so many questions, but he also needed to make sure that the younger boy was okay. To his surprise, it was Charles who spoke up first.

“I should go.” The words were nothing more but a whisper and still, in the silence of the late evening, they sounded too loud.  Erik felt like someone had punched him in the guts.

“What? What do you mean?” Charles couldn’t leave. He didn’t want to be alone again.

“If I stay, I might hurt you.” The smaller boy hugged his knees against his chest tighter. He looked like he was holding back tears.

“Charles, you just saved my life. Those men would have killed me if you hadn’t done… whatever it was you did.” Erik tried to reassure the boy, but it didn’t go as planned.

“But I can’t control it! I used it on you there, I don’t want to hurt you…” Charles’ voice broke as he started to sob, resting his head on his knees. He looked so vulnerable that it almost hurt. It had been scary when Charles had used his powers on him, but he didn’t let that change things. When Erik spoke, he made sure to use his most gentle voice.

“You won’t. You can learn to control it if you just practice.”

“No! No, if I use my powers, they’ll find me. They will take me away.” The terror in Charles’ voice made Erik flinch.

“What are you talking about, who will take you away?” He asked, but Charles didn’t answer. He was shaking like a leaf again and Erik started to feel restless too.

 

“Charles, please talk to me” He pleaded.

“Demons.” The younger boy’s voice was not even a whisper and Erik wasn’t sure he heard him right.

“What? Demons?” Charles nodded slightly, not meeting Erik’s eyes. This was becoming weirder and weirder. “Why would you think that?” Erik knew that Charles was a smart boy. He was quickly to learn and knew many things about the world around them, so it was almost absurd that he could believe that demons were after him. 

“They told me. My mother and stepfather. They said that I am a …” Charles’ voice faded away.

“A what, Charles?” Erik asked, frowning.

“A Devil’s child.” Charles said with surprisingly strong voice. “And if I use my powers, the demons will find me and he possesses me.” He broke down in tears again and Erik decided that it was enough. He took a firm hold of the smaller boy’s shoulders and didn’t let go even when Charles tried to escape in panic. He was angry, angry for those people who had made Charles afraid of himself and his powers.

“Charles. Charles! Listen to me! You are not a Devil’s child!” He told firmly and shook the boy a little. Charles looked timidly at him and Erik held his gaze.

“How can you be so sure?” Charles asked quietly, stiff under his hands, but didn’t try to flee anymore.

 

Instead of answering, Erik gave him a small smile and took a coin from his pocket. He held it so the smaller boy could see it and with last deep breath made it levitate slowly between them. He looked back at Charles whose teary eyes were now full of wonder.

“I know, because I have powers too.” He said quietly and Charles’ gaze moved from the coin to him. “And I have nothing to do with demons or devils.” He smiled to the boy, hoping it was calming him. Charles however looked puzzled.

“But why would they lie to me?” He asked and Erik let out a small sigh.

“There’s many reasons for people to lie. Maybe they really believed it or they just wanted you to be scared of your powers so you wouldn’t use them against them. People are always afraid of things they don’t understand and usually that fear turns into hatred.” Erik said grimly and Charles lowered his head, biting his lip.

“Are you scared of me?” He asked, taking Erik aback. He thought about it, how Charles had made three men drop unconscious and how it had felt when some strange power had taken control of his limbs and made him let go of the smaller boy. But he knew that Charles was his friend and wouldn’t hurt him on purpose.

“Your powers? A bit. You? No.” Erik said and watched as Charles’ face lit up. He let the coin drop back to his hand.

“And you? You’re not afraid of me?” He asked and Charles shook his head.

“Of course not. You’re my friend. There’s more good in you than you even know.” Charles’ words warmed Erik, even if he wasn’t so convinced by the statement, but he was just glad that he wasn’t alone anymore.

 

For his surprise Charles put his right hand on his shoulder and smiled.

“No Erik. You will never have to be alone again.”

 

…

 

That night they didn’t sleep much, but laid close to each other in Erik’s nest and talked about their powers. Charles listened Erik with wonder and curiosity in his eyes. Asking questions Erik knew no answers and planning ways to test the limits of Erik’s true potential. His excitement was contagious and the older boy could truly see that this was a son of a scientist.

 

Slowly Charles started to open up about his powers. He told that he was a telepath, he was able to hear other people’s thoughts and even control them if he focused enough. It was easier if he was in physical contact with those whose thoughts he wanted to hear, usually it was so effective that he could hear them then even if he didn’t want to.

“Sometimes it feels overwhelming. I can never tune them out completely, there’s always something. Not always even complete thoughts, but emotions or images.” Charles said.

“I think I know what you mean. I can always feel the metal around me, but without focusing I can’t tell what shape it is in or what metal it is.”

 

They also shared their pasts. In the first time Erik told everything about his parents’ death, about how everyone avoided him and how he ended up alone.

“It wasn’t only the fact that I’m Germanic, but I’m also Jewish.” He said, his voice bitter. Charles looked at him with a frown.

“Why does that matter?” He asked and Erik shrugged. Charles was still so innocent, too naive for this cruel world.

“It’s yet another reason for people to hate I guess. It makes me different and that’s enough for them.” He said and Charles pouted. He looked adorable.

“But that’s stupid. I don’t care if you are different, you’ve been the only one who has treated me as a person after my father died, so you’re actually better than most people I’ve ever met.” Charles said with a smile and Erik felt the corners of his lips go up.

“You’re a better than others too, Charles.” He said, truly meaning it.

 

When Charles told about his life with Markos, Kurt and Cain, Erik had to take deep breaths so he wouldn’t do something stupid, like go and find those bastards and make them suffer. It seemed that they had liked to use Charles as a punching bag from the moment Kurt married his mother, Sharon. Things got only worse when they found out of the boy’s strange powers. They said that it was because of his father’s work, that he had made some kind of deal with the devil. They kept him locked in, first in the house, then in his room and when they moved to America, in a chest. Sometimes they didn’t give him food for days and when they did they were only scraps. It had lasted for two years or so.

“Before we left, my mother called to her priest. She wanted him to try to exorcise the powers out of me. It was terrible. He made me drink some weird liquid that seemed to make all thoughts even louder. It hurt so much. I begged him to make it stop but it just went on and on. I passed out after some time and when I woke up, I decided that I would never use my powers again. They thought that he had succeeded, but when they found out that he actually hadn’t they locked me inside the chest the whole way to America. At least until they dumped me here.” Charles told, voice full of pain and sorrow. Erik did the only reasonable thing and stroked the younger boy’s hair.

“I won’t let anything like that happen to you again Charles. I promise.” He said and for a moment Charles looked straight to his eyes before he threw himself closer to the taller boy and wrapped his arms tight around him. It took Erik by surprise, but with instinct he put his own arms around the smaller frame.

_‘Thank you.’_ Charles whispered, but Erik heard it in his mind. There was so much in Charles he didn’t know yet and he looked forward to find out more.

“Don’t mention it.” He whispered aloud, before he added. “That was amazing.”  There was feeling of joy coming from Charles and words like _‘friend’ ‘safe’ ‘accepted’ ‘trust’_ that almost overwhelmed him. Erik tried to think those things too. How much it meant to him that Charles stayed with him and all the good traits the young boy had. Charles laughed softly.

“No need to shout, I can hear you.” He said aloud and Erik smiled sheepishly.

“I might need some practice.” He said and Charles lifted his head, looking at him.

“We both, but right now I’d just like to sleep.” He said and just like to prove the point, let out a long yawn.

“Well, in that case, gute nacht, Charles.” He said and started to feel quite tired himself.

“Good night, Erik.” Charles answered and snuggled little closer.

**Author's Note:**

> It feels like it’s about to fall apart, but there’s just too many things I wanted to mention! ‘sigh’ Well, I hope you liked it anyway and please tell me what you think or if there’s any huge mistakes.


End file.
